Many small business owners don~t understand the importance of a professional, complete and informative business plan. Without it, most will never find funding or receive lines of credit with which to start their business or grow. A business plan is a blueprint containing all the necessary information for your company to get money, set goals, hire staff and implement future growth strategies.

Most business plans stick to a widely used, specific and uncluttered format. By keeping your business plan straightforward and leaving out any useless or unnecessary information, your investor will be much more likely to take you seriously. If you make the potential investor search for information in a stack of papers, they won~t be happy. Unless told differently, stick to the format used by most business owners.

The standard business plan starts out with the executive summary. This section lets the reader know who your company is, what your company does and why it~s better than the competition. It also highlights the company~s history and overview. Additionally, the executive summary gives a short description of the industry and the legal hierarchy of the company. Focus your efforts on this brief but extremely important first section of the business plan. Potential investors will come back to these paragraphs time and time again, so it is paramount that the summary gives a precise, yet full picture of your company.

Depending on your investor, the industry and the type of business you are opening, the next pages of the business plan may vary. However, somewhere it should describe the company~s products and/or services offered, the company~s plans for marketing, advertising and sales, and of course, the company~s daily operations. This operations section will include the challenges facing the company, supporters of the company, insurance company, and a timeline of goals. In the next to last portion, the business plan will go into job descriptions and more than likely will include organizational charts. In the final section of the business plan, financial information is discussed. This will cover sources of funding, what will happen to the profits, how losses will be covered, allocation of funds and a break-even analysis.

The above is just a short description of a business plan and how it~s formatted. The potential investor should always be asked for the type of business plan and layout that is preferred. It is better to ask first, in this way, you may prepare a business plan with charts, graphs, and tables for one investor while constructing an entirely different format for a different investor. As an additional safety net, consider seeking out the services of a professional writer. They may be able to edit and proofread the plan before submitting it to the investor. The best business plan is the professional and well compiled one, and will be sure to encourage potential investors to join forces with your company.

About The Author
Frederick Sildumn has helped multiple businesses plan for a successful future. He is the operator of For Intelligent Business.com, a web resource guide dedicated to business related topics. To learn more about business, visit: http://www.foribusiness.com/